Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. E.Huseynli / The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh must be settled through peace negotiations, Yustisnas Karosas, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, said.
Lithuania as a member of the European Union backing peace resolving all conflicts through peace negotiations.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
During his visit to Azerbaijan Karosas is planning to discuss prospects of development of economic and cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Lithuania with Azerbaijani officials. Karosas will also meet with Oktay Asadov, the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament.